Entrapment / Massive Assault - Split EP

ENTRAPMENT / MASSIVE ASSAULT Split (WOLFSBANE - 7"EP 2014)

Another fantastic single from Wolfsbane and one which I was waiting for patiently! This one is a split between two killer Dutch bands: Massive Assault and Entrapment. Especially the latter is the reason for me to have this 7”EP, as I really enjoyed all Entrapment recordings so far and just could not miss this new one also. But I know Massive Assault as well, they’re also a very good band, so… it is just always nice to find such classic 7” split release with two killer bands. Limited to 500 copies, with 100 copies on blue vinyl (which I have – great!), it’s one of those singles, which are essential for the maniacs of old school, raw death metal.

And the feast begins with Massive Assault, who really blew me away on this EP! Yes, they offer two songs (two, but they melted into one J) and damn, what a pleasant stuff it is. It begins with “Prelude to Agony”, which is kind of classic Sweden meets old Morgoth, etc. melodic theme, very good for the opening of every killer death metal tune… and then when “Staring Back” it only gets better, more aggressive, with great feeling, killer dark atmosphere... What a nice stuff! I seriously love it and I am ashamed actually that I slightly underestimated this band haha! But the more happy I am that they proved me wrong and delivered such a fantastic tune, even better that side B’s Entrapment! Really, I know that there are many bands now, which play death metal the old way, many also have the Svensk Dödsmetall influence and it’s great, but I think not many have the same quality as Massive Assault on this EP! Fantastic!

Side B belongs to Entrapment. This is great band, I have almost all their releases (only missing their first two demos, but they’ve been re-released on compilation CD, which I have, so… no feeling of missing something!). It’s interesting that Entrapment first started as a band, which was taking a lot of influence from bands like Nihilist, Carnage, Dismember, etc, but on their recent recordings like the last album “Lamentations of the Flesh” they’ve moved away from it a little, into something more original, but still deeply rooted in the old school death metal. It’s now just harsher, more obscure, maybe also the playing is simpler, more straight forward… kind of if they combined some 80’s legends of extreme metal with the Swedish style of death metal haha! And I think that it even has some raw black metal influence - listen to the vocals or some of the riffs… Hmm, my objective opinion anyway! And as such the closest comparisons would probably be Pentacle… and even Asphyx, from their “Embrace of Death” LP! All in all, I still enjoy Entrapment music a lot, this is awesome band! I am sad to see that they’re quite underrated, but fuck the morons, who can’t recognize killer bands from shit. Here are two (sadly quite short) songs, of which I especially like “Predatory Conduct”, but “Wrath of Dawn” is also brilliant, especially that opening riff!! So… there’s nothing more to add. A very good release from the Dutch Wolfsbane Records, very recommended!
Final rate: 89/100